The Mudhen Meat and Green's menu is the creation of local restaurant mogul Shannon Wynne and Chef Jennifer "Suki" Otsuki. Photos courtesy of Mudhen's Facebook page.

Feb. 15, 2016

Mudhen is the nickname for the American Coot, a migratory waterfowl that eats primarily plants. It is also the name of the new restaurant at the Dallas Farmers Market that relies heavily on veggies for its healthy fare. 

The Mudhen Meat and Green's menu is the creation of local restaurant mogul Shannon Wynne and Chef Jennifer "Suki" Otsuki, most recently of Meddlesome Moth and LARK on the Park, She is a graduate of Texas Culinary Academy and holds a Certificate in Patisserie and Baking from Le Cordon Bleu. Her latest offering highlights her expertise with lower-carb dishes, in addition to pastured meats, ocean-raised fish and "organic and GMO-free whenever possible" ingredients.

Mudhen opened the last week of January at the new “big deal” location, Dallas Farmer’s Market, which recently underwent a huge renovation. Otsuki said they hashed out the restaurant details for about a year and a half.

“We spent a lot of time at the drawing board really fine tuning our direction,” said Otsuki.

She said she also had the opportunity to work with nutritionists Mark Herrin at Sundrops and Jennifer Fielden to ensure she was paying attention to the most genuine ingredients and creating a menu that would provide ordinary people with truly honest and healthful food.  

Keith Schlabs, Sam Wynne and Shannon S. Wynne at Mudhen Meat and Greens.

“We also went on a few R&D trips to New York and LA where the market is saturated with light, farm-to-table restaurants,” Otsuki adds. “Surprisingly, we did not find anyone that had focused on cooking temps for meats.” 

The concept of Mudhen is healthy dining with a focus on fresh vegetables and pasture raised meats. Otsuki says she believes this was a good idea for Dallas.

“Dallas has a lot of wonderful restaurants, many of which can be fairly decadent in nature,’’ she said. “I believe you can eat healthfully without feeling like you’re eating rabbit food and flavorless sawdust.”

The healthy chef also said that health conscious or not, what will make Mudhen stand out is that they offer a place where you can eat frequently, but remain “guilt free because the food is light yet flavorful.”

On the menu, Otsuki assures there will be quite a few veggie-centric options too. 

“I try to remain conscientious of vegan diners when creating menu items,” Otsuki says. “One of my favorite vegan options is the root vegetable ‘angel hair’ in walnut cream.  It is 100 percent vegan and has a lot of great flavor.”

Mudhen will also source organic as best as possible, particularly with the produce the Environmental Working Group refers to as the Dirty Dozen – conventionally grown food that is known for being laced with pesticides, Otsuki adds.

“My goal is to utilize the local farmers and growers, and have the ability to do so with being so close to the market,” she explains. “I really look forward to cultivating relationships with local vendors. Outside of that we use a few local companies to provide us with all the basics.”

Mudhen has also adhered to and supported the city requirements for the city of Dallas’ green building standards and codes.

“We repurposed all of the existing steel and concrete onsite and will be growing vegetables and herbs as well,” she said. “All of the water our guests consume is filtered and we recycle all materials we can.”

Since the Jan. 25 launch, Mudhen’s hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. with weekend brunch hours coming soon. See Mudhen's website for more info.

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